17th century in movies
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- DirectorMarc RivièreStarsPhilippe TorretonAlessandra MartinesMarc CittiWith France's prime minister Cardinal Richelieu and King Louis XIII dead, the Italian-born Cardinal Mazarin and the Spanish-born Queen Anne struggle to establish a regency to rule France in the name of the five-year-old Louis XIV.
- StarsMikhail BoyarskiyVenyamin SmekhovIgor StaryginD'Artagnan and his musketeer comrades thwart the plans of Cardinal Richelieu to usurp King Louis XIII's power.
- DirectorBernard BorderieStarsMichèle MercierRobert HosseinJean RochefortIn the first of the Angélique series, the beautiful feisty teenage heroine becomes entangled in a political assassination plot and is betrothed to a stranger who is twelve years her senior and a reputed sorcerer.
- DirectorGérard CorbiauStarsBenoît MagimelBoris TerralTchéky KaryoCorbiau repeats the Farinelli formula, artistic rivalry and social private drama expressed in dazzling, sometimes excessively lavish baroque scenery, music and costume, but this time in its ultimate setting: Versailles. There are two protagonists - first the title character, Louis XIV, the French sun-king who has two passions, establishing absolute rule over the realm -after decades of religious/civil wars- by divine right and artistic brilliancy as a dancer (like Nero wrote and performed musical poetry), and starts asserting himself against the entourage of his Medici mother, the regent during his minority, by building his palace complex and launching a 'fitting' new, mainly musical display of baroque show. Secondly the musical genius Gianbattista Lulli ('Jean-Baptiste') Lully, a Florentine upstart of unbridled ambition, quickly gains the king's absolute trust, despite the nationalist and aristocratic opposition to a low-born Italian, and thus turns the normally socially humble post of court composer into a 'ministerial portfolio of culture' of Cabinet rank, complete with a monopoly which kills of his artistic rivals in operatic theater. The script also weaves a complex web of court scheming for individual power and social interests, and even a sadistic but accidental murder on a young valet, producing a sensuous and sumptuous drama too complex for this format, ending in a freakish but fatal accident. Louis XIV's mother was Ana de Austria (in French, Anne d' Autriche), the daughter of one of the Hapsburgh Kings of Spain. Maria di Medici (in French, Marie de Médicis) was his grandmother, his father's mother. She was dead before Louis XIV reached the throne. Please correct the reference to "his Medici mother"
- DirectorRoland JofféStarsGérard DepardieuUma ThurmanTim RothVatel is the cook of Prince Condé. When the prince invites Louis XIV to hunt, he has to give lavish banquets in order to fall in his favor. But when Vatel falls in love with the king's mistress, love and duty come into conflict.
- DirectorThierry BinistiStarsVinciane MillereauSamuel TheisJérôme PoulyDocudrama about the life of Louis XIV nicknamed "the Sun King", the King of France who ran a glamorous court, expanded the borders of France, loved women and parties and built an incredible palace for himself - the Versailles.
- DirectorRoberto RosselliniStarsJean-Marie PatteRaymond JourdanCésar SilvagniAfter the death of Cardinal Mazarin, young king Louis XIV decides to assert his power to control the aristocracy.
- CreatorSimon MirrenDavid WolstencroftStarsGeorge BlagdenAlexander VlahosTygh RunyanIn 1667, 28-year-old all-powerful king of France, Louis XIV, decides to build the greatest palace in the world - Versailles. But drained budget, affairs and political intrigues complicate things.
- DirectorAlan RickmanStarsKate WinsletAlan RickmanStanley TucciTwo talented landscape artists become romantically entangled while building a garden in King Louis XIV's palace at Versailles.
- DirectorPatricia MazuyStarsIsabelle HuppertJean-Pierre KalfonSimon ReggianiMadame de Maintenon rises from humble beginnings to become a courtesan to the royal court and eventually marries King Louis XIV. With the king's indulgence, Maintenon opens a special school for girls.
- DirectorAxel CortiStarsValeria GolinoRobin RenucciPaul CrauchetSet in the seventeenth century, an Italian nobleman weds an impoverished countess, who is wooed by the King of Piedmont and faces pressure from his entire court to succumb to his wishes.
- DirectorAlain CorneauStarsGérard DepardieuJean-Pierre MarielleAnne BrochetThe story of Monsieur de Sainte Colombe, fierce and somber man, grand master of the viola da gamba and professor of Marin Marais, prestigious musician in the court of Louis XIV.
- DirectorAndré HunebelleStarsJean MaraisBourvilSabine SesselmannPrince Philippe de Gonzague decides to get rid of his cousin Duke de Nevers, having wished for long his properties and wealth.
- DirectorAndré HunebelleStarsJean MaraisBourvilElsa MartinelliThe young King Louis XIII is dominated by his mother Marie de Medici and her favorite Concino Concini. Francois de Capestang, a faithful knight falls for the daughter of the Duke of Angouleme that conspires against the Crown by his side.
- DirectorHenri DecoinStarsJean MaraisSylva KoscinaJean-François PoronThe story of the Three Musketeers, D'Artagnan, and the imprisonment in an iron mask of the identical twin of the King of France, Louis XIV.
- DirectorPierre Gaspard-HuitStarsJean MaraisGeneviève GradGérard BarrayThe ruined Baron Philippe de Sigognac, meets one day a troupe of traveling actors. Attracted by Isabelle, and by the enthusiasm of his acting companions, he joins the troupe.
- DirectorJean-Paul RappeneauStarsGérard DepardieuAnne BrochetVincent PerezFamed swordsman and poet Cyrano de Bergerac is in love with his cousin Roxane. He has never expressed his love for her as he his large nose undermines his self-confidence. Then he finds a way to express his love to her, indirectly.
- DirectorAgnès MerletStarsValentina CerviMichel SerraultPredrag 'Miki' ManojlovicArtemisia Gentileschi (1593-1653) was one of the first well-known female painters. The movie tells the story of her youth, when she was guided and protected by her father, the painter Orazio Gentileschi. Her professional curiosity about the male anatomy, forbidden for her eyes, led her to the knowledge of sexual pleasure. But she was also well known because in 1612 she had to appear in a courtroom because her teacher, Agostino Tassi, was suspected of raping her. She tried to protect him, but was put in the thumb screws...
- DirectorAngelo LongoniStarsAlessio BoniElena Sofia RicciJordi MollàThe tumultuous and adventurous life of Michelangelo Merisi, controversial artist, called by Fate to become the immortal Caravaggio. A violent genius that will dare to defy the ideal vision of the world imposed by the Renaissance painters. A provoker that scandalized patrons and institutions, raising the altars the outcast figures he knew so well: drunkards, vagrants and prostitutes.
- DirectorDerek JarmanStarsNoam AlmazDexter FletcherNigel TerryA retelling of the life of the celebrated 17th-century painter through his brilliant, nearly blasphemous paintings and his flirtations with the underworld.
- DirectorGillies MacKinnonStarsVulpe AdrianCarmen UngureanuClémence PoésyMini series depicting the turbulent and bloody reigns of Scottish monarchs Mary, Queen of Scots and her son King James VI of Scotland who became King James I of England and foiled the Gunpowder Plot.
- DirectorKen HughesStarsRichard HarrisAlec GuinnessRobert MorleyPuritan statesman Oliver Cromwell leads England in a civil war against the absolutist and Catholic-sympathetic King Charles I.
- DirectorMike BarkerStarsTim RothDougray ScottOlivia WilliamsA recounting of the relationship between General Fairfax and Oliver Cromwell, as they try to cope with the consequences of deposing King Charles I.
- DirectorRichard EyreStarsBilly CrudupClaire DanesRupert EverettA female theatre dresser creates a stir and sparks a revolution in seventeenth century London theatre by playing Desdemona in Othello. But what will become of the male actor she once worked for and eventually replaced?
- DirectorLaurence DunmoreStarsJohnny DeppSamantha MortonJohn MalkovichThe story of John Wilmot, a.k.a. the Earl of Rochester, a 17th century poet who famously drank and debauched his way to an early grave, only to earn posthumous critical acclaim for his life's work.
- DirectorMichael HoffmanStarsRobert Downey Jr.Sam NeillDavid ThewlisThe exiled royal doctor to King Charles II devotes himself to helping Londoners suffering from the plague, and in the process falls in love with an equally poor woman.
- DirectorImanol UribeStarsMaría BarrancoJoaquim de AlmeidaLaura del SolAfter spending a night with a sensual prostitute, the King of Spain decides that he wants to see his wife naked. His decision causes a real revolution amidst his subjects.
- DirectorGérard OuryStarsLouis de FunèsYves MontandAlice SapritchIn 17th-century Spain, the Minister of Finance tries to dishonor the queen with an overly complex plan.
- DirectorYan FridStarsMikhail BoyarskiyAnna SamokhinaYuriy BogatyryovThe impoverished nobleman and freethinker don César de Bazan was sentenced to death. Before his death, the king's minister, Don José, asks for his favor - to marry a stranger and give her his noble title.
- DirectorYan FridStarsMargarita TerekhovaMikhail BoyarskiyArmen DzhigarkhanyanTeodoro, the secretary of countess Diana de Belfler, is in love with her maid Marcela. Following the development of their affair, countess suddenly feels the jealousy.
- DirectorYan FridStarsMargarita TerekhovaEmmanuil VitorganNikolay KarachentsovSpain, XVII century. Two students, Felipe and Pastrano, who left an annoying university, decide to look for happiness in Madrid.
- DirectorPeter WebberStarsScarlett JohanssonColin FirthTom WilkinsonA young peasant maid working in the house of painter Johannes Vermeer becomes his talented assistant and the model for one of his most famous works.
- DirectorRoel ReinéStarsFrank LammersSanne LangelaarBarry AtsmaWhen the young republic of The Netherlands is attacked by England, France, and Germany, and the country is on the brink of civil war, only one man can lead the country's strongest weapon, the Dutch fleet: Michiel de Ruyter.
- DirectorJos StellingStarsFrans StellingTon de KoffLucie SingelingIn the final year of his life, Rembrandt painted a series of self-portraits that show him in a dark, lonely state of mind. Stelling has painstakingly recreated the pathetic end of a genius with an authenticity that allows viewers to infer their own conclusions about the relationship between Rembrandt's life and art.
- StarsRufus SewellRupert GravesCharlie Creed-MilesThe chronicle of Charles II's time on the throne, his ten-year exile from Oliver Cromwell's England, and his triumphant return.
- StarsJamie DornanJeremy NorthamJoe DempsieThe 1680s bring a new King, Restoration, and more tyranny. In Massachusetts, a robber's son falls for an anti-monarchist. In England, a young lady falls for an outlaw.
- DirectorDouglas HickoxStarsRichard ThomasMichael YorkJohn GielgudThe story of two brothers, Scottish noblemen whose family is torn apart by the Jacobite rising of 1745.
- StarsDominique BlancDidier SandreValentine VarelaDrama centering around the life at the court of Louis XIV and the role of the Marquise de Maintenon.
- DirectorPeter GreenawayStarsMartin FreemanEmily HolmesEva BirthistleAn extravagant, exotic and moving look at Rembrandt's romantic and professional life, and the controversy he created by the identification of a murderer in the painting 'The Night Watch'.
- DirectorRoger PlanchonStarsCarmen MauraMaxime MansionPaolo GraziosiThe title of this major French costume drama means "Louis, child-king", and indeed it's a fascinating fresco about the formative years of the young king Louis XIV, before he became the Sun-king at Versailles. It was a dark and violent period, when the Louvre (meaning 'wolves hunt castle', hunting was a major aristocratic pastime), then still the somewhat gloomy royal palace, was the battle field of palace intrigues while the regency was held by queen-mother Anne of Austria but the actual head of the royal government was the aging cardinal Giulio Mazirini ('Mazarin'), the less-known Italian successor of Richelieu, who also introduced to the court and the kingdom a host of his countrymen from whom Louis would learn the passion for Italian culture, especially music which would flourish under the direction of Lully (but that later story is another movie, "Le Roi danse"). The elaborate script sketches the story of French power politics, too complicate and devious to summarize in any detail, but mainly from the viewpoint of the immature king under maternal guardianship, who probably didn't comprehend half of the grave troubles focusing on the strife between the official Catholic church and those claiming freedom of religion, especially for the Huguenots, but in reality mainly driven by personal and family ambitions and the grip of nobles on the kingdom at the expense of the royal power, and climaxing in a full rebellion, known as the Fronde, which forces the royal family to flee for their lives, an experience that may have decided Louis to dedicate his reign to preventing a repeat by establishing absolutism as he did. Some narration is done by Louis's younger brother Philip, the duke of Anjou, who seems smarter but as the spare heir is condemned to life in a golden cage, overshadowed by Louis while any 'disrespect' for his crowned sibling is punishable on the spot by strap lashes administered on his bare behind by a servant.
- DirectorLaurent TirardStarsRomain DurisFabrice LuchiniLaura MoranteTo satisfy his creditors, a witty actor reinvents himself as a satirical playwright, with uproarious, yet bittersweet, results.
- DirectorRoman PolanskiStarsWalter MatthauCris CampionDamien ThomasThe adventures of pirate Captain Red and his first mate Frog.
- DirectorBruce BeresfordStarsLothaire BluteauAden YoungSandrine HoltIn the 17th century, a Jesuit missionary nicknamed Black Robe by the natives and his small party of companions try reaching the Huron tribe in Canada all while facing mistrust, Iroquois warring parties and harsh winter conditions.
- DirectorJames ClavellStarsMichael CaineOmar SharifFlorinda BolkanDuring the Thirty Years' War of 1600s, a band of Protestant mercenaries peacefully coexist with German Catholic villagers in a hidden idyllic mountain valley untouched by war.
- StarsJean-François PoronOlivier HussenotJean MartinelliOnce a Huguenot, Marquis Sylvain de Bois Doré was converted to catholicism at the same time as King Henri IV, whose campaigned he shared. He now leads a comfortable life in his castle. A connoisseur of the good things in life, Bois Doré loves hunting, good food and even, occasionally, his servant girls... But what nobody knows is that he has a human foible named Lauriane. She is thirty years younger than him and he has been in love with her - quite unreasonably - since she was a child...
- DirectorPhilippe RousselotStarsEwan McGregorGreta ScacchiPete PostlethwaiteIn England, during the 17th-century, a Dutch garden architect (Ewan McGregor, "Moulin Rouge!") is drawn into a web of passion and treachery after being hired by a wealthy merchant.
- DirectorJohn HoughStarsEmma SammsOliver ReedClaire BloomSwashbuckling tale of romance, betrayal, jealousy, banditry, murder, and court intrigue set in the 1660s, during the Restoration to the English throne of King Charles II.
- StarsPolly DartfordAndrew BuchanTrixiebell HarrowellAn insight into what happened on the night of 2 September 1666, the Great fire of London.
- DirectorVéra BelmontStarsSophie MarceauBernard GiraudeauLambert WilsonThe rise and fall of a beauteous actress. She rises from an impoverished background to become a favorite of the Sun King, Louis XIV.
- DirectorMika KaurismäkiStarsMalin BuskaSarah GadonMichael NyqvistTHE GIRL KING paints a portrait of the brilliant, extravagant Kristina of Sweden, queen from age six, who fights the conservative forces that are against her ideas to modernize Sweden and who have no tolerance for her awakening sexuality.
- DirectorGiacomo BattiatoStarsAnthony QuinnStefania SandrelliValérie KapriskyAs a boy the orphan Antonio Stradivari heard for the first time in his life the sound of a violin and he was fascinated by its voice. He tried to construct a violin and attracted the attention of Niccolò Amati, a famous lutist of Cremona. Antonio became apprentice in his bottega (workshop). Grown up, he fell in love for Francesca and he succeeded in marrying her. Afterwards he became more and more famous for his violins and he was granted a diploma from the king of Spain. After the death of his wife he was almost forced to marry again. He was chosen by Antonia Maria and it will be a happy marriage. In the background we have a look at the history of Northern Italy during the seventeenth century.
- DirectorTerrence MalickStarsColin FarrellQ'orianka KilcherChristopher PlummerThe story of the English exploration of Virginia, and of the changing world and loves of Pocahontas.